Germany sets new solar power record, institute says

[Fabbs]

How does Germany keep the oil and nuke pigs from interfering?

(Reuters) - German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.

The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022.

They will be replaced by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass.

Norbert Allnoch, director of the Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) in Muenster, said the 22 gigawatts of solar power per hour fed into the national grid on Saturday met nearly 50 percent of the nation's midday electricity needs.

"Never before anywhere has a country produced as much photovoltaic electricity," Allnoch told Reuters. "Germany came close to the 20 gigawatt (GW) mark a few times in recent weeks. But this was the first time we made it over."

The record-breaking amount of solar power shows one of the world's leading industrial nations was able to meet a third of its electricity needs on a work day, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when factories and offices were closed.

Government-mandated support for renewables has helped Germany became a world leader in renewable energy and the country gets about 20 percent of its overall annual electricity from those sources.

Germany has nearly as much installed solar power generation capacity as the rest of the world combined and gets about four percent of its overall annual electricity needs from the sun alone. It aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

SUNSHINE

Some critics say renewable energy is not reliable enough nor is there enough capacity to power major industrial nations. But Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany is eager to demonstrate that is indeed possible.

The jump above the 20 GW level was due to increased capacity this year and bright sunshine nationwide.

The 22 GW per hour figure is up from about 14 GW per hour a year ago. Germany added 7.5 GW of installed power generation capacity in 2012 and 1.8 GW more in the first quarter for a total of 26 GW capacity.

"This shows Germany is capable of meeting a large share of its electricity needs with solar power," Allnoch said. "It also shows Germany can do with fewer coal-burning power plants, gas-burning plants and nuclear plants."

Allnoch said the data is based on information from the European Energy Exchange (EEX), a bourse based in Leipzig.

The incentives through the state-mandated "feed-in-tariff" (FIT) are not without controversy, however. The FIT is the lifeblood for the industry until photovoltaic prices fall further to levels similar for conventional power production.

Utilities and consumer groups have complained the FIT for solar power adds about 2 cents per kilowatt/hour on top of electricity prices in Germany that are already among the highest in the world with consumers paying about 23 cents per kw/h.

German consumers pay about 4 billion euros ($5 billion) per year on top of their electricity bills for solar power, according to a 2012 report by the Environment Ministry.

Critics also complain growing levels of solar power make the national grid more less stable due to fluctuations in output.

Merkel's centre-right government has tried to accelerate cuts in the FIT, which has fallen by between 15 and 30 percent per year, to nearly 40 percent this year to levels below 20 cents per kw/h. But the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has blocked it.

($1 = 0.7992 euros)

[coyotes_geek]

Utilities and consumer groups have complained the FIT for solar power adds about 2 cents per kilowatt/hour on top of electricity prices in Germany that are already among the highest in the world with consumers paying about 23 cents per kw/h.

:wow

Holy crap.

[Halberto]

Good for them, hopefully they can continue their progress at the same pace for the next 20 years.

[ElNono]

:wow

Holy crap.

Is that Euros?... If it's Euros, that's 18 cents/KWH in US dollars... I currently pay ~13 cents/KWH here (including delivery charges).

[TeyshaBlue]

Is that Euros?... If it's Euros, that's 18 cents/KWH in US dollars... I currently pay ~13 cents/KWH here (including delivery charges).

lol...7.9c here.

[coyotes_geek]

Is that Euros?... If it's Euros, that's 18 cents/KWH in US dollars... I currently pay ~13 cents/KWH here (including delivery charges).

Even in euros that's still sticker shock to me. In Austin we pay 7.85 cents in the summer, down around 6 cents in the winter.

[ElNono]

lol...7.9c here.


Even in euros that's still sticker shock to me. In Austin we pay 7.85 cents in the summer, down around 6 cents in the winter.

Actually, I lied, it's a little more than that. Last bill is $95.23 for 650 KWH... that's closer to ~14.6c/KWH

:lol new jersey = fu:lolked

[Slomo]

Is that Euros?... If it's Euros, that's 18 cents/KWH in US dollars... I currently pay ~13 cents/KWH here (including delivery charges).

How did you come to 18 cents US?

0,23 € = US$ 0,29

[coyotes_geek]

Actually, I lied, it's a little more than that. Last bill is $95.23 for 650 KWH... that's closer to ~14.6c/KWH

:lol new jersey = fu:lolked


:wow

Holy crap.

[coyotes_geek]

How did you come to 18 cents US?

0,23 € = US$ 0,29


:wow

Holy crap.

[ElNono]

How did you come to 18 cents US?

0,23 € = US$ 0,29

Shit, thanks Slomo... I multiplied by .8 instead of dividing by .8

[Wild Cobra]

Shit, thanks Slomo... I multiplied by .8 instead of dividing by .8

Too easy to make a simple mistake in math, isn't it.

The stuff's expensive, but Germany makes ecology work but taxing the shit out of other stuff.

Anyone know fuel prices in Germany right now? When I was over there, the tax alone was 1.01 Deutch marks per liter. That's a tax of about $2.50 per gallon, and this was 1990 ± a couple years. I forget the actual fuel prices then, but it was over $4 per gallon, maybe over $5. I used an exchange rate of 1.53 marks/dollar which varied quite a bit during that period.

[ElNono]

Too easy to make a simple mistake in math, isn't it.

Yeah, I was wrong... you should always get more dollars for less euros... should've been evident, tbh...

[Wild Cobra]

Yeah, I was wrong... you should always get more dollars for less euros... should've been evident, tbh...
How about just remembering that when I have a mathematical oooops......

[ElNono]

How about just remembering that when I have a mathematical oooops......

I was wrong. I simply didn't take offense when Slomo corrected me, I thanked him instead.

How about just remembering that when you have a mathematical oooops?

[Wild Cobra]

I was wrong. I simply didn't take offense when Slomo corrected me, I thanked him instead.

How about just remembering that when you have a mathematical oooops?
LOL...

Fair enough.

[boutons_deux]

If US electricity were charged at the total cost of coal (environmental destruction, pollution, etc external costs), it would be up there with Euro prices.

US pays "off sheet" for coal electricity with heavy metal pollution, SuperFund coal ash sites (and horrendous spills), dead miners in for-profit shit holes called mines, etc, etc.

[Drachen]

Too easy to make a simple mistake in math, isn't it.

The stuff's expensive, but Germany makes ecology work but taxing the shit out of other stuff.

Anyone know fuel prices in Germany right now? When I was over there, the tax alone was 1.01 Deutch marks per liter. That's a tax of about $2.50 per gallon, and this was 1990 ± a couple years. I forget the actual fuel prices then, but it was over $4 per gallon, maybe over $5. I used an exchange rate of 1.53 marks/dollar which varied quite a bit during that period.

In 1997 it was about DM 4.50 a liter. At the time it was about 1.6 DM / $1. So about $2.81 a liter or about $10.63 a gallon.

[SnakeBoy]

Anyone know fuel prices in Germany right now?


"We would kiss our chancellor's backside to pay $4.45 a gallon for gas," said Stefan Sebastian, 39, who is taking a break from Frankfurt, Germany, to tour Seattle in a Dodge Journey rental car. Earlier this spring, gas prices in Germany reached the equivalent of $8.56 a gallon.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018403873_gasprices11m.html

[SnakeBoy]

If the US ever follows Germany's lead it will bankrupt the world.

[ElNono]

Gas prices outside of production countries or the US have always been expensive... people still get by...

[boutons_deux]

If the US ever follows Germany's lead it will bankrupt the world.

The war(s) for diminishing oil will bankrupt the world (the part that is totally dependent on, addicted to oil)

and the price of oil as oil supplies diminish will cripple industrial civilization.

[Halberto]

The war(s) for diminishing oil will bankrupt the world (the part that is totally dependent on, addicted to oil)

and the price of oil as oil supplies diminish will cripple industrial civilization.

We're heading towards an oil shortage and the whole world will crumble once it's harder to extract. We must STOP fracking right? That just makes sense.

[ElNono]

We're heading towards an oil shortage and the whole world will crumble once it's harder to extract.

Are we?

[Wild Cobra]

In 1997 it was about DM 4.50 a liter. At the time it was about 1.6 DM / $1. So about $2.81 a liter or about $10.63 a gallon.
Ouch.

I don't remember it being that high, but I had military prices.

So, even without their 1.01 DM tax/liter it would be pretty expensive.

[TDMVPDPOY]

like i said this sort of the stuff doesnt work out for the govt, cause they want a share of the pie in it with the energy companies....if everyone goes green with systems installed and feed back into the grid, they are forcing these producers/suppliers into becoming buyers of the consumer generated market....no wonder why each year you keep on hearing about the buy-back price of electricity feed into the grid is going decreasing for the consumer, that there is no cost/benefit margin returns.....

[boutons_deux]

More Solar Power in TX Could Save Consumers Over $520 Million, New Study Finds

A new report released today analyzed how much electricity prices for Texas consumers would have been reduced in the summer of 2011 by adding solar capacity to the Texas electricity market. In total, it found potential savings of over $520 million for state electricity consumers.

Additionally, the study found that additional solar capacity would help considerably to reduce growing blackout threats in the state.

The key findings of the report are that “adding photovoltaic solar to the Texas electricity grid in the summer of 2011 could have saved customers an average of $155 to $281 per megawatt hour (MWh) and that avoiding fuel, operations and maintenance costs associated with fossil fuels plans could have saved customers an additional $52 per MWh. Taken together, the total customer benefits of adding solar PV to the Texas grid was valued at more than $520 million.”

Aside from electricity prices, a major concern facing Texas residents this year is that Texas electricity reserves have fallen below targets and will, thus, challenge operations this summer

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/06/19/more-solar-power-tx-would-end-summer-electricity-price-spikes-new-study-finds/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

So much of south + west half TX is sun-drenched and wind-blown wasteland, a huge, renewable energy resource.

[boutons_deux]

Could California Save 30% or More on Solar Power?

The Golden State has covered over 50,000 roofs with solar PV in the past decade, but could it also save 30% or more on its current solar costs? Renewable energy guru Paul Gipe wrote up a study last month that found that Californians pay much more per kilowatt-hour of solar power than Germans do (accounting for the difference in the solar resource). The following chart outlines the various ways Californians pay for solar, compared to the Germans

http://c1cleantechnicacom.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2011/09/gchart-california-solar-v-germany-solar-cost.png

Switching energy policies could save ratepayers billions.

A 24-cent CLEAN contract price for California solar (to match the German contract) would replace the entire slate of existing solar incentives with an overall average cost 30% lower than the current combined incentives. If 2011 is a banner year and the state sees 1 gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity, the savings to ratepayers of a CLEAN program (over 20 years) would be nearly $3 billion.

If the CLEAN price were adjusted down to assume that projects could use the federal tax credit, then California could set the contract price as low as 18.5 cents per kWh, 5 cents less than is currently paid by California ratepayers (although requiring projects to use tax credits has significant liabilities).

Several states and municipal utilities (Vermont; Hawaii; Gainesville, FL; and San Antonio, TX) have already shifted to this simple, comprehensive policy, with promising early results. Californians should consider whether holding to an outdated and complicated energy policy is worth paying billions of dollars extra for solar power.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/09/14/could-california-save-30-or-more-on-solar-power/

[Wild Cobra]

More Solar Power in TX Could Save Consumers Over $520 Million, New Study Finds

A new report released today analyzed how much electricity prices for Texas consumers would have been reduced in the summer of 2011 by adding solar capacity to the Texas electricity market. In total, it found potential savings of over $520 million for state electricity consumers.

Additionally, the study found that additional solar capacity would help considerably to reduce growing blackout threats in the state.

The key findings of the report are that “adding photovoltaic solar to the Texas electricity grid in the summer of 2011 could have saved customers an average of $155 to $281 per megawatt hour (MWh) and that avoiding fuel, operations and maintenance costs associated with fossil fuels plans could have saved customers an additional $52 per MWh. Taken together, the total customer benefits of adding solar PV to the Texas grid was valued at more than $520 million.”

Aside from electricity prices, a major concern facing Texas residents this year is that Texas electricity reserves have fallen below targets and will, thus, challenge operations this summer

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/06/19/more-solar-power-tx-would-end-summer-electricity-price-spikes-new-study-finds/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

So much of south + west half TX is sun-drenched and wind-blown wasteland, a huge, renewable energy resource.
How much of the price is subsidized by the other 49 states?

[boutons_deux]

How much of the price is subsidized by the other 49 states?

Why are you against tax/govt policy guiding clean, renewable energy, but love/are indifferent to $100Bs tax expenditures to dirty, carbon energy?

[Wild Cobra]

Why are you against tax/govt policy guiding clean, renewable energy, but love/are indifferent to $100Bs tax expenditures to dirty, carbon energy?
I don't think you understand the difference. Why should I waste my time trying to explain?

How about first, showing me you know the proper definition of "subsidy." If you can, I may entertain trying to explain my thoughts to you.

[Drachen]

This looks pretty cool, this will capture the infared rays while still converting all visible light.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/all-carbon-solar-cell-draws-power-from-near-infrared-light/

[boutons_deux]

I don't think you understand the difference. Why should I waste my time trying to explain?

How about first, showing me you know the proper definition of "subsidy." If you can, I may entertain trying to explain my thoughts to you.

so now you're playing dumb about "subsidy". How about just giving taxpayer money away to oilcos by not or under collecting lease money, accelarated depreciation for all kinds of shit, etc, etc, etc. And then indebting taxpayers by invading Iraq to secure UK/US access to oil.

http://priceofoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/FINCapitolOil_infographic_final_2-791x1024.jpg

http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/

[boutons_deux]

This looks pretty cool, this will capture the infared rays while still converting all visible light.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/all-carbon-solar-cell-draws-power-from-near-infrared-light/

yep, capturing energy in IR and UV ranges would be awesome.

And they need to research how to make the panels less sensitive to heat. Hotter the panel means less output. Is why panels work even on cloudy or hazy days.

Too bad we didn't spend the $1T in Repug wars on battery, panel, wind, materials research. aka, those wars were "opportunity costs"

[TeyshaBlue]

This looks pretty cool, this will capture the infared rays while still converting all visible light.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/22/all-carbon-solar-cell-draws-power-from-near-infrared-light/

Damn....beat me to it!:toast